IRRIGATION IN DRY CLIMATES 



183 



fruit left on the trees; (3) to induce the tree to bear a good crop 

 annually instead of every other year; (4) to save work at harvest 

 time in picking and sorting low grade fruit. 



Dwarf apple trees are neither a fad nor a novelty. But they 

 are not usually considered commercially profitable in America. 

 Almost any variety of apple can be made to grow well on dwarfing 

 stocks as Paradise or quince. The trees will then come to 

 bearing much younger (Fig. 108). They may be planted as close 



Flo. 108. — An orchard of dwarf apple trees four years old. (New Jersey Station.) 



as seven to nine feet apart each way. The fruit is not changed in 

 size or otherwise by the dwarfing. The trees are more expensive 

 than standard trees and many more are required to set an acre. 

 While the yield per tree is much less, the yield per acre is not as 

 much reduced as might be expected. 



Irrigation in Dry Climates.— In arid regions of the western 

 states and elsewhere irrigation of orchards is necessary. Water 

 may be applied to the soil in a number of ways. Far the most 

 common method is to plow furrows between rows as shown in 



